and the record of the advice presidential candidate per se. i agree with youtotally,steve. imust agree with you because that's what i wrote on the "huffington post" so i must agree with it, it's a very important debate. everybody says vice presidential debates aren't important. i say history is bunk to quote henry ford. this one really matters for the reason that you say. as crystal said, there are a lot of freaked out democrats. they need some good news. the democrat spirits are not going to be turned around by registration numbers in various states. the obama campaign put out a memo about that today. that's great for the junk kiss. that's not great or helpful to the spirit of the volunteers and so forth. joe biden needs to be seen as the winner tonight for the very reason you're talking about, the media narrative, which could be crushing if they go 0-2. >> howard, as the romney team likes to point out. joe biden has done a lot of debates. by my count, 749. no, closer to 23, but he did 14 in the last year, in 2008 alone. >> yes. >> on the other hand, he's also been vice president for

strategist and msnbc politicalanalyststeveschmidt.up bright and early this morning. looking good. >> you look beautiful. >> we also have former treasury official and "morning joe" economic analyst, i still like financier better. >> i'm going to say financier. >> steve ratner. >> wait a minute. am i not beautiful? >> you're gorgeous. >> like a rainbow, as cyndi lauper would say. >> what did we talk about yesterday? and from the site of tonight's vice presidential debate in danville, kentucky, msnbc and "time" magazine senior editor mark halperin. >> godspeed. so mika, we've got 26 days left. until the election. is that a word? i saw it on the front of "sports illustrated." we have a passel of polls that are pounding us this morning. and this race is a toss-up. >> it is. >> in all the swing states. it's a toss-up in all the swing states. and we've got a debate coming up. and my gosh, there's so much political news. it only makes sense that we start with baseball. willie. >> no. no. >> unbelievable night last night. >> we could talk about lance armstrong. >> the 162nd day of the season last

tosteve. >>thank you, sal. mostly cloudy. that's a low cloud deck. a no-doubt-about-it westerly breeze where the wind is coming from. the rain, higher clouds have thinned out. it was just funneled in off the sierra nevada right over us coming over the low pressure in southern california. but counterclockwise is the way the wind flows around the low. look what's coming up on the sierra. as this low goes south, most of that cloud cover should stall. instead of going over us, by tonight it should be closer to the south bay. gilroy, no doubt about it, took hongers. .75. but also numerous reports of hail about 2 inches deep. so the low moves south, you can see the low as it has thunderstorms from last night coming down. showers are moving south. a lot of lower clouds, a cooler, breezy pattern. some of that is moving up to the sierra nevada. the wrap-around effect bears watching around here. temperatures today start in the 50s. they will send up -- they will end up in the 60s. the system there is bumping the low out of the picture. look what's coming up from las vegas where there's big thund

in his community. he plays a simple tune that has greatmeaning.stevehartmantakes us on the road to meet him. >> reporter: right when the sun calls it a day and starts setting on the peugeot sound, residents of this neighborhood in tacoma, washington say they start hearing music, same time, same 24 notes. a lot of people say it's the most poignant melody they've ever heard. ♪ >> when you hear the first note, everything in our house comes to a complete halt. people stop and go out. >> i let it wash over me. >> reporter: although the notes have been played before from military funerals to boy scout camp fires, rarely do you hear taps here. coming from a back porch in a suburban neighborhood. >> i'm in another zone when i'm playing. i'm not aware of anything else. i play this as best as i can, do a good job. >> reporter: don briton has been playing trumpet since he was a kid. he even was a band for a while. but he's never taken it as seriously as he does now. every morning the 78-year-old retired aerospace paper checks the paper to see when sunset is. every afternoon he practices.

. we have team coverage for youtonight.stevehandlesmanshows us the best of the debates. some fans tried to juggle both of those events. >> we did a pretty good job with election day less than one month away. some a's fans made watching that debate a priority. tuning in to that spirited exchange while monitoring the score. a's fans cheered on the big game. fans could also tune in to the vice presidential debate. >> it's cool, i can't hear it, though. >> my eyes are going back and forth. so many tv's here. >> he plans to watch joe biden and paul ryan later. >> over at the white hills in oakland, the family is watching baseball and politics. >> we wanted to watch both the debate and the ball game, we love the a's, and it's so season to be in the postseason, the debate is also important. >> diego provided a's highlights he caught on the phone. >> i was on the phone while they were watching the debate. >> the baseball game turned out to be a disappointment, but the debate was full of action. >> this is spirited and focused, and i think it was a stronger debate from both people tonight.

simpson. >> iamstevechenevey.and we will have more on the deadly house fire in baltimore that killed five people including four children last night. first, meteorologist adam caskey. >> a cool start to the day. in the belfort furniture weather center we are tracking conditions. nothing to worry about half through the next couple days. unseasonably cool conditions and a breeze tomorrow. let's go to the satellite and radar composite. clouds are off to our north close to the canadian border and in the upper midwest. no precipitation around here until monday. 45 now in aldie, virginia. 45 in clarksburg. berkeley springs, 43. 48 in arlington and chevy chase. 62 this afternoon with bright sunshine and a light note westerly breeze. now to angela. >> looking at a trouble-free drive as you head out this morning. in virginia, 95 moving well northbound and southbound despite an active work zone. moving quite well into dumphries and crossing the occoquan. you are good all the way to the springfield interchange. same on 66. eastbound moving well manassas. heading into fair oaks, trouble- free. on

the winner of this year's weigh off, a 17, 775- pound gourd. also today is theparade.steveyoungis the grand marshall. >> great selection there. steve young being the grand marshall. >> and a fun weekend. very packed. make sure --. >> he may have a problem because it's bumper to bumper. it should be a good day for people out there on saturday. >> its going to be a beautiful day. already a beautiful start in half moon bay. mostly clear skies over parts of the coast. around the bay we are dealing more sun. a few low clouds as well as high clouds. mostly sunny, a chilly start, low to mid40s in some of the valley locations. by noontime we feel pretty good. widespread low to mid60's in the forecast around the bay and touching 70 around concord, livermore, fairfield and antioch. here is the forecast for the afternoon. 74 in santa rosa with mostly sunny skies, 71 vallejo, 76 livermore, 71 oakland. 66 san francisco, 73 in redwood city. low 70s palo alto, if you have been looking for the warmer weather it's on the way. we have mostly sunny skies for sunday. sunday even a warmer day.